The 1939 St. Mary's Gaels were coached by ex-Notre Dame center who played under Knute Rockne, Slip Madigan. They were a bit of a sketchy bunch. They experimented with tear-away jerseys and practice the forward fumble. They beat Texas Tech in the 1939 Cotton Bowl.
1937 Santa Clara Broncos
The 1937 team was coached by college football hall-of-fame coach, Buck Shaw and they went 9-0. Big wins were posted over Stanford (13-7), Marquette (38-0), and their ancient foe, St. Mary's (7-0). The Santa Clara defense anchored by All-American center Phil Dougherty, allowed only nine points in nine games and 25 yards rushing per game, both NCAA records. The Broncos finished the season ranked number 9 in the country. New Year's Day, 1938 brought the No. 9 ranked Santa Clara Broncos their second Sugar Bowl bid against a revenge minded SEC runner-up, Lousiana State. The Bronco's Sugar Bowl victory the previous year against the same LSU team did little to improve their underdog status. The Williamson Poll ranked LSU number 4 in the country with a 97.6 rating while giving SCU on a rating of 93.8 and a national ranking of 21. With the Southeastern Conference being rated as the strongest in the nation, the Tigers were again given the nod to win big over the Broncos. However, the Broncos won 6-0 over the Tigers and finished number 9 in the country.
1951 San Francisco Dons
The San Francisco Dons were a historically mediocre football program but in 1951, they became a dominant force. They went 9-0 and produced 3 future NFL hall-of-famers (Gino Marchetti, Ollie Matson, and Bob St. Clair). The average score of their games was 33-8 and they dominated every game they played. They were to be invited to bowl games but it was a time before college football was fully racially integrated. They would have had to left two African-American teammates, Ollie Matson and Burl Toler, behind. They chose not to, which ended the program at the university due to their financial problems. Accepting the bid would have saved the program, but they stood for something more.
1969 San Diego State Aztecs
In 1969, the Aztecs played their first season in what he now call "FCS." They had won the last 3 "small division" national championships and made their move up. In their first year in the large division, they went 11-0 and capped off their season with a win over Boston University in the Pasadena Bowl. They averaged a 45-18 victory and their big victories included number 18 Long Beach State and number 19 Boston University. They didn't get much respect for their season by only getting a final ranking of number 18 in the country.
1986 San Jose State Spartans
This team went 10-2 under Claude Gilbert. They only lost to Oregon and Stanford, but they beat Washington State, Cal, and Fresno State that year and beat Miami of Ohio in the California Bowl. They won their conference, now the Big West, the Pacific Coast Athletic Association.
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